1. THE ILLINOIS REGIONAL EPORTFOLIO PARTNERSHIP (IREP) Establishing Shared Pathways with Community Colleges through Electronic Portfoliios

2. PRESENTERS  Michael Day, Director, First-Year Composition, Northern Illinois University  Robert McCord, Chair of Assessment, McHenry Community College  Chris Parker, Associate Vice Provost for Assessment, Northern Illinois University

3. PROGRAM ABSTRACT  Universities routinely employ ePortfolios to increase student collegiate learning and satisfaction; yet few efforts have focused on establishing a set of shared institutional expectations for college readiness. Northern Illinois University is in the midst of designing such a longitudinal approach regarding the role of ePortfolios in the transfer and articulation process between K-12, community colleges, and universities in the northern Illinois area . This approach focuses upon the alignment of the Common Core Standards and general education to serve as a “pathway” for college readiness that can catalyze student preparation for productive careers as well as institutional restructuring of advisement, assessment, and professional development that better supports the whole student.

4. BACKGROUND: EPORTFOLIOS AT NIU AND BEYOND  NIU Quick Facts  Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research Cohort I  Programmatic Eportfolio in First-Year Composition  Strategic Planning: Longitudinal General Education Eportfolio  Progressive Learning in Undergraduate Studies (Gen Ed Revision)  Partnership Between FYComp, Gen Ed, and Assessment  Concerns about Transfer of Gen Ed Courses  Common Core Standards and PARCC  Community College Visits  Northern Illinois Eportfolio Symposium and IREP Meeting

5. IREP DESCRIPTION/PURPOSE  A partnership of Illinois higher education institutions focused on using eportfolios as a means of facilitating student success, articulating competencies among institutions, and sharing strategies for achieving organizational goals.

6. IREP OBJECTIVES  Share successes and develop a compelling case for the adoption of eportfolios within the IL higher education system  Share lessons learned in the implementation and use of eportfolios  Explore ways in which eportfolios can be used to facilitate students’ transfer across institutions in the IL higher education system  Demonstrate the use of eportfolios as a means of assessing college and career readiness and as a way to complement / supplement the use of standardized tests  Explore ways that eportfolios can foster inter-institution articulation at all levels  Establish a nationally recognized model for the integrated use of eportfolios across the IL higher education system.

7. IREP NEXT STEPS  Establish IREP steering committee  Refine IREP purpose, objectives, and implementation strategies  Define and establish a multi-institution eportfolio pilot project  Obtain letters of institutional support  Apply for IBHE funding  Apply to become a research cohort for a three-year Inter/National Coalition for Eportfolio Research study on the role of eportfolio in community college – university articulation and transfer in the northern Illinois region

8. IREP MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL PILOT PROJECT  Focus on foundational competencies required for college and career readiness:  Written and oral communication  Critical thinking and problem solving  Quantitative and qualitative literacy  Collaboration and teamwork  Consider limiting initial scope to a specific discipline where there is a high degree of student movement between IL institutions and an occupational demand  Common definitions of core competencies  Clear artifacts that demonstrate college and career readiness  Established assessment rubrics  Focus on articulation and movement of students between:  High School  2 yr AAS programs  4 yr BS programs  Graduate Nurse Practitioner programs  Workforce

9. IREP GOALS  Demonstrate a viable alternative to standardized testing for assessing common core competencies by sharing and collaborating on a mindset of “folio thinking” that requires iterative reflection on learning and professional pathways  Clarify the issues (technical, procedural, and pedagogical) that need to be addressed in order to facilitate the transfer of student portfolios across institutions  Determine whether an eportfolio can help to better assess incoming students’ educational needs as they move across institutions  Show how an eportfolio could help students feel better prepared to transition to a new school or the marketplace

10. PILOT PROJECT EXAMPLES  We would appreciate your reactions to and comments on each!  First-Year Composition pilot, that would use eportfolio to help partner institutions coordinate their efforts to place, support, and assess students’ writing abilities to make transfer easier  Nursing pilot that would use eportfolio to help partner institutions place, support, and assess nursing students in more general competencies, including writing and critical thinking.  Your suggestions?

11. PILOT PROJECT PLAN  Identify participating institutions/programs  Recruit student and faculty representatives from each institution/level  Develop or buy into existing project outcomes  Agree on common definitions of relevant student SLOs  Identify possible student artifacts that would illustrate SLOs at each level/institution  Determine the extent to which a common template or format is needed or desired  Identify and share assessment criteria to be used at each institution or level

12. PARTNER INSTITUTION PERSPECTIVE  Robert McCord, McHenry County College

13. WHERE WE ARE NOW  Summaries sent to September 12 Symposium participants  Follow-up letters, but not until December  Limited response to follow-up letters  Limitations:  Time  Support  Opportunities:  I/NCEPR  P-20  ISBE  Network of ENGL 600 Alumni  Sabbatical Leave Research

14. AUDIENCE BRAINSTORMING/PROBLEM SOLVING  In general, what issues need to be addressed in order to share eportfolios across institutions?  What are the strengths and weaknesses of focusing on the common core?  What are the strengths and weaknesses of beginning within a specific professional discipline?  By what criteria should the success of a regional partnership (in general) or pilot project (in particular) be judged?  What suggestions do you have for us as we move forward?